Mini Monitors - Dynaudio and JM Labs

i am using YBA Passion Integre to drive the Micros. my amp is rated 50W at 8ohms which is not considered as powerful as SS amp but it has no problem driving the Micros. the quality of the amp matters much more because Micros is very revealing. the YBA amp has two kinda output: high damping factor output and low damping output (tube like). the low damping factor output has fuller sound and especailly fuller (or uncontrolled if you wanna call it in this way) bass with a bit loss of transparency and bass extension (as mentioned in YBA manual) but so far i feel it gives much better result for Micros for jazz music. it compensate the lean bass of Micros.

now comes back to the bass issues of Micros. maybe i rephrase my previous statement a little bit. the bass of Micros is OK for a bookshelf speakers. however comparing to the PERFECT tweeter and PERFECT midrange, it's obvious less perfect. but of course that's why there are high range models like Diva/Alto/Grand Utopia. the bass of Micros rolls out quite sharply from around 50hz. however above 50hz, the bass has tons of textures, details, speed, pace, with a warm touch. all i can say is, it does a good job within its limitations (50hz -3db) but not beyond that. i assume anyone who adopt Utopia series has the objective of pursuing perfect sounding without compromise. thus i feel a good subwoofer is still necesary in this sense.

Very informative response Liuhao . You seem to share the same admiration for the Micro's .
What made you change from the Triangles ?
Have you had a chance to try any other amplification ?
Thank you .

frankly speaking, in my case, the changes from Triangles to Micros are mostly because of upgrade bug. :-) no clear reasons but just want to upgrade. need a new toy for my christmas to keep myself happy. that's it.

being both french speakers, the Triangles actually share the same sonic characteristic as Micros. they are both transparent, easy to drive, light and easy sounding. i feel that they are trying to produce same kind of sound. at least their understandings of how the speakers should sound are same or very close so i feel i have a very smooth migration without any shock, surprise or effort of getting used to "new" sound.

the differences are not fundamental but only technical. the Micros tweeter is clearly better than Triangles (and anything i have ever heard) with better treble extensions. this makes overall sounding of Micros slightly lighter and more transparent. but this doesnt suggest the treble of Triangles is bad. midrange of Micros is more round and neutral while Triangles is more laid back and warm. the Triangle has easier and better bass extensions but Micros has more bass texture above 50hz. however all these differences do not make them different type of sound. i am happy with Micros but also surprised to find out that being ten times cheaper than Micros (600 vs 6000), the Triangles clearly not even one time inferior. just imho of course.

i tried a few amps but still felt my YBA matches best with Micros (especially using low damping factor output). however, please be noted that what i have tried DO NOT include the well-known-good-match-amps like mointosh SS, jeff rowland SS or jadis tube amp. i would love to but unfortunately didnt get chance to try these amps. but i would highly suggest you go for the proven ones because i have heard how bad it could sound when pairing with a mismatch amp.

Liuhao ; another very informative response , thank you for your time !

Saki,

I heard the JM Micro Utopia driven with Lavardin IT integrated amp. It sounded very good actually, but in the end I still did find the sound a strifle lean. These French speakers along with Triangle and JM Reynaud have a distinct sound: they are all very clear, clean, but somehow I find the midrange not too be as robust sounding as the British speakers. In may just be my ears preference in the end.But I do have friend and relatives that really love the French sound... They love it & wont change anything for them... YMMV.

Nolitan ; I somewhat agree with the light duty midrange thing . I have had JM Lab speakers previosly and found them to be lacking in "toetapping-headbobbing" ability .
This may be attributal to your midrange findings with the 'french sound' especially since adding a sub did not help .
I don't think that amps are an issue as I have heard the JM Lab stuff with some respectable equipment not the least of which was MacIntosh which is known for its musicality .
This aspect is one reason that I am looking at different manufacturers that have the Be tweeter sound such as Usher.
Incidently , I have been told that Usher has now developed a Beryllium midrange driver !
I wonder if anyone at the show has heard it ?

If you're not thrown off by the Pioneer name, you may want to consider their EX-Series which was developed by TAD (Technical Audio Devices - Pioneer's high-end speaker division). These speakers were developed by the same guy that developed the highly acclaimed $45,000 TAD Model-1.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/album/0,,2076_310069828,00.html

They use a beryllium tweeter, but it is used in conjunction with a Magnesium midrange instead of the more expensive beryllium midrange used in the TAD speakers. These speakers have been raved at recent shows when used in conjunction with Bel Canto electronics. Since I'm a Bel Canto dealer, I'm seriously considering looking at evaluating these speakers to possibly add them to our lineup on the suggestion of John Stronczer (owner/designer Bel Canto). I wish they marketed them under the TAD name though sooner than Pioneer.